Excavator.



W. KELLY.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. II, I9I4.

WITNESSES:

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Ml l E/V TOR William ,A/iZZy ATTORNEY w. KELL-Y.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11. mm.

Patented Dec.14,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN VE/V TOR ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

COLUMBiA Puwoaurn c0.,wAsmNcrroN, D. c,

W. KELLY.

EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11. m4

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

Suva iot William Kelly Witness WILLIAM KELLY, OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA.

EXCAVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. it, 1915.

Application filed November 11, 1914. Serial No. 871,486.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM KELLY, a citizen of the United btates, residing at Grand Island, in the county of liall and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful improvements in ltxcavators, of which the following is a specilica tion.

'lhis invention relates to excavators of the chain-,and-bucket type, and its object is to provide a machine of this kind which will dig and till a ditch at the same time, its construction being such that it may be used on deep ditches-in sandy soil.

With the herein stated object in View, the invention consists in a novel co1nbination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the .same may be better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in whichrigure l is a side elevation of the machine; l ig. 2 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a collecting box; Fig. l is an elevation of the excavating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line of Fig. -l, and Fig 6 is a side elevation of a fragment of the excavating mechanism. 7

Referring specifically to the drawings, themain frame of the machine is mounted on a truck having front and hind wheels 10 and 11, respectively, the former being the steering Wheels, they being carried by a pivoted axle 12 having a tongue 13 carrying a nut 14 through which is threaded a. screw 15 having an operating handle 16 at one end. The screw is carried by hearing brackets 17, and upon rotating said screw, the axle is swung on its pivot to steer the truck. .The main frame has longitudinal side bars 18 carrying the brackets 17, and also supporting the Working parts of the machine.

At the rear end of the main frame is mounted an excavator of the chain-andbucket type, and to the rear thereof is located a conveyor on which the excavator discharges.

The supporting frame of the excavator comprises laterally spaced uprights l9 rising from the side bars 18, and connected at the top by a cross bar 20. These uprights also depend for a short distance below the side bars 18, and they serve as guides for the excavator. The uprights are mounted inside the side bars, and they are rigidly supported in upright position by braces 20.

'l he excavator comprises two laterally spaced, endless chains 21 carrying buckets 22, and trained over top and bottomsprocket wheels 23, the shafts of which latter extend transversely between and are carried by upright frame bars 2% mounted on the uprights 19 to slide up and down thereon. 'lhe bars 24: are connected by latticed braces 25, and at the top they are connected by a cross bar 20. 'i he bars 24: are composed of I-beains, the same being mounted against the inner faces of the uprights it), and so placed that the latter lit in the channels, whereby the excavator is held in upright position.

The excavator is driven by sprocket wheels 27 over which the chains ii are trained, said drive sprocket wheels being located intermediate the top and bottom sprocket wheels 23. The sprocket wheels 2i are located to one side of the uprights it) and 2i, so that the shaft 28 of said sprocket wheels may clear the same, and not interfere with the vertical adjustment of the excavator, said shaft being supported at its ends in bearings 29 mounted on the side bars 18.

Adjacent to the drive sprocket wheels 27, in front of the uprights 19, are guides 30 for the buckets 22, said guides comprising rails which are made fast to the uprights, above the sprocket wheels 27, and extend at their lower ends in an outturned curve partly around and in front of the latter. The buckets are supported on cross bars 31 extending between and carried by the chains 21. The ends of the cross bars 31 are offset inwardly, as indicated at 32, said oflsets projecting for a short distance outside the chains. When the buckets reach the guide rails 30, they slide up thesame in front thereof, whereas the offsets 32 slide up along the rear edges of the rails, and the chains 21 travel over the sprocket wheels 27, the rails being located slightly to one side of the chains.

In order that the excavator may be raised and lowered, there is connected to the cross bar 26 a cable or hoisting line 33 which passes over a pulley 8i carried by the cross bar 20, and extends down to a winding drum 35. Upon paying out the cable, the frame bars 24 of the excavator slide down the uprights l9, and the excavator lowers into operating position, as shown dotted in Fig. 1, and it may thus be lowered as the depth of the ditch increases. When the machine is not in operation, the excavator may be elevated above the ground as shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

Thewinding drum is belted, as indicated at 36, to a countershaft 87 driven by an engine 38, these parts being all suitably mounted and supported on the main frame of the machine. The countershaft is provided with a friction or other clutch 39. The winding drum 35 is provided with a brake 40 having a controlling lever 41, and a clutch 42 is also provided for the winding drum, the same having a controlling lever 43.

On the main frame of the machine are mounted two winch drums 44, one for pulling pickets, and the other for moving the ma chine back and forth along the ditch. The shaft 45 of the drums is belted to the countershaft 87, as indicated at 46. The shaft 28 of the drive sprocket wheels 27 of the excavator is driven from the winch shaft 45, a belt drive 47 being provided. The shaft 28 is provided with a clutch 48 having an actuating lever 49 provided with an operating rod 50.

To assist in controlling the adjustment of the excavator, a hand wheel 51 is provided which is back-geared to the drum 35 by a belt 52. The hand wheel is provided with a brake 53 carried by a hand lever 54. By means of the hand wheel, the excavator may be raised or lowered manually, and also when raising or lowering the excavator by means of the winding drum 35, the hand wheel may be used to hold the excavator while the brake is being set on the winding drum.

The conveyer on which the excavator discharges is an endless belt 55 running over rollers 56. These rollers are carried by a frame 57 pivoted at its inner end on a transverse shaft 58 carried by the side bars 18. This shaft has a roller 59 over which a the belt is trained. The free end of the frame 57 carries a roller 60 for the corresponding end of the belt. This end of the frame has a wheeled support 61, the wheels of said support being flanged and designed to travel on a track 62 extending alongside the ditch. As the conveyer is pivoted on the shaft 58, it is free to swing up and down to follow irregularities in the track 62. The wheels 10 and 11 are also mounted for travel on this track to facilitate moving the machine. The conveyer 55 is driven from the winch shaft 45 by means of a belt 63 between the same and the shaft 58.

The excavator does not discharge directly on the conveyer, but into a collecting box 64 located above the receiving end of the con veyer. This box is mounted in front of the discharging side of the excavator, and extends from the top of the conveyer to a suflicient height to receive the material as it drops out of the buckets 22. Thatside of the box which faces the conveyer is open, and the opposite side and the ends are closed. The top of the box is also open, so that the material may drop through the same. The lower end of the box" rests on top of the conveyer, at the receiving end thereof, thisend of the box being contracted,

as indicated at 65, and having a narrow discharge opening at the center, located midway between theedges of the conveyer belt 55. The material dug up by the buckets 22 is dischargedinto the box at the top thereof, and escapes through the narrow bottom discharge opening onto the conveyer belt. The box molds the stream of-material so that it lies in the center of theconveyer belt, and the latter carries the materialback into the ditch. alongside the ditch, a board 66 may be placed diagonally across the top of the'conveyer belt, as shown in Fig. 2, whic-h will deflect the material toone side. The board" can be moved alongthe conveyer to'fill the ditch at any place. The box 64 is supported from the uprights 19 by means of brackets 67, the same being loose enough to allow the box to rise and fall with the conveyer when the If the material is to be discharged latter swings upand down ashereinbefore 1 described. a a

The preferred embodiment of the invenfor the support, drive sprocket wheels-over which the chains are trained intermediate their ends, said sprocket wheels being offset laterally from the guides to clear the same, and guide rails located adjacent to said sprocket wheels, said guide rails extending partly around the sprocket wheels, and be:

ing engageable on one side by the buckets and onthe other side by the offset ends of the cross bars carrying the buckets;

2. The combination of an excavator, a

pi'votally supported conveyer on which'the excavator discharges, and a receptacle into which the excavator dumps,said receptacle being loosely supported and-resting atits lower end on top of the conveyer, and having a contracted bottom outlet located above the receiving end of the conveyer.

3. The combination of an excavator, a conveyor on which the excavator discharges, and an upright collecting box into the upper end of which the excavator dumps, the sides of the box at the lower end thereof being contracted, and said end of the box he- 10 ing close to the top of the conveyer, and

having a front outlet opening located intermediate the longitudinal edges of the conveyer.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM KELLY.

Witnesses:

H. E. CLIFFORD, W. E. DONNER.

Comes of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

